Hair-raising Halloween Reads

It’s almost that time of the year when “ghoulies and ghosties

and long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the 

night” come out to play. So if you’re looking for some chilling

and thrilling reads to get you in the mood for Halloween here

are a few suggestions from library staff.

Darllen Dychrynllyd Calan Gaeaf 

Unwaith eto mae hi’n amser ysbrydion a gwrachod a sŵn y gwynt yn chwythu trwy’r coed.  Felly os ydych chi am rywbeth dychrynllyd o ddifyr i’w ddarllen yn ystod Calan Gaeaf dyma rhai o awgrymiadau staff y llyfrgelloedd.

John Boyne, This House is Haunted

1867. Eliza Caine arrives in Norfolk to take up 

her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall on a

dark and chilling night. As she makes her way

across the station platform, a pair of invisible 

hands push her from behind into the path of an

approaching train. She is only saved by 

the vigilance of a passing doctor. 

When she finally arrives, shaken, at the hall 

she is greeted by the two children in her care, Isabella

and Eustace. There are no parents, no adults at all, and no 

one to represent her mysterious employer. The children offer

no explanation. Later that night in her room, a second 

terrifying experience further reinforces the sense that

something is very wrong.

Susan Hill, The Woman in Black

When Arthur Kipps attends the funeral of Alice

Drablow he is unaware of the tragic secrets 

which lie hidden behind her house. It is not until

he glimpses a woman dressed all in black at 

the funeral that a creeping sense of unease 

begins to take hold.

Andrew Michael Hurley, The Loney

If it had another name, I never knew, but the

locals called it the Loney - that strange nowhere

between the Wyre and the Lune where Hanny

and I went every Easter time with Mummer, 

Farther, Mr and Mrs Belderboss and 

Father Wilfred, the parish priest. It was

impossible to truly know the place. It changed 

with each influx and retreat, and the neap tides would reveal 

the skeletons of those who thought they could escape its 

insidious currents. No one ever went near the water. No one

apart from us, that is. I suppose I always knew that what 

happened there wouldn't stay hidden forever, no matter 

how much I wanted it to.

Kate Mosse, The Winter Ghosts

March 1928. The Great War has been over for 

ten years, but Freddie Abrahams still hasn't

recovered from the loss of his brother. Even

now, on holiday in south-west France, 

he cannot escape his grief. By turns thrilling, 

poignant and haunting.

Michelle Paver, Dark Matter

January 1937, 28-year-old Jack is poor, lonely 

and desperate to change his life. So when 

he's offered the chance to join an Arctic 

expedition, he jumps at it. After they reach the 

remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp 

for the next year, Gruhuken, Jack feels a 

creeping unease. One by one, his companions

are forced to leave and he is left alone, or is he?

Phil Rickman, Night After Night

Liam Defford doesn't believe in ghosts. He 

does, however, believe in high-impact 

television. On the lookout for his next idea, he 

hires a journalist to research the history of a 

Tudor farmhouse turned luxury hotel, 

abandoned at the height of its success. 

Ignoring the chilling tales that surface, Defford decides that 

the hall would be the perfect setting for a celebrity reality 

programme, "Big Brother" meets "Most Haunted"!

Then of course you can’t beat a classic, spooky, short story.

Wedyn does dim byd gwell na stori fer arswydus.

Charles Dickens,The Signal Man; Henry James,The Turn of the Screw and M R James,The Haunted Dolls House.

Finally, if you want to cwtch up with your little ones and share

a not too scary story while they make short work of their trick

or treating loot, Kes Gray’s “The Mice in the Churchyard”, will

fit the bill.

Yn olaf os ydych chi am gwtsio lan gyda’r rhai bach i rannu 

stori sydd ddim yn rhy frawychus wrth iddyn nhw fwynhau 

danteithion yr ŵyl mae “The Mice in the Churchyard” gan Kes

Gray i’r dim.

“Using tombstones for tables and headstones for seating,

The neighbourhood cats called a mice-catching meeting.”